Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America’s Original Gangster Couple

The “Roaring Twenties” was a decade of post-war ebullience where financial speculation ran unabated. Prohibition led to lawlessness and violence and the media/law enforcement dubbed Public Enemies began to grab headlines across the country. Richard and Margaret Whittemore, known as “Candy Kid” and “Tiger Girl” would grace newspaper front pages for their infamy from 1925-1926. Richard was born from a privileged family, but his troublesome nature got him locked up in various institutions in Maryland. Margaret and Richard had known each other since they were children, and Margaret’s family saw menace in Richard.

The straight and narrow life held little appeal to Richard, who desired easy money. His criminal future was set when he met two safecracker brothers named Kraemer in the Maryland State Penitentiary. After a brazen escape involving a fatal assault on a guard, Whittemore and his associates conducted a violent crime spree spanning Maryland, New York, and Ohio.

Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid is an excellent True Crime romp that is consistently compelling throughout its narrative. The brief spell the two Whittemores cast over the public conscience resonates even more a century later, with the glorification of the outlaw. Author Glenn Stout has written a fascinating account of the ill-fated rogues.